French voters fear left radicals and move to Le Pen

Date of publication: 19 04 2017, 18:46

Paris, France. Marine Le Pen may well end up the next President of France, but depositers in banks are not taking chances as her opposition advocates a 100% tax on all income over $400,000 a year, should Melenchon prevail in upcoming elections.

French bank account holders alarmed at the economic risks of an election victory by an extreme-Left candidate are sending money out of the country, it emerged on Sunday.

Financial markets are spooked by the increasingly likely prospect that France’s next president will be Marine Le Pen, the Front National leader, or worse- Mélenchon, a revolutionary who wants to slap a 100 per cent tax on earnings over €400,000 (£340,00).

A large number of middle-class French families have transferred millions of euros to Luxembourg in recent days, financial sources said. “They feel that if there’s a catastrophe, at least they’ll still have that money,” Hervé Tisserand of the Altaprofits brokerage told reporters.

Bienprevoir, a website offering savings and investment advice, said they feared that plans by both Ms Le Pen and Mr Mélenchon to ditch the euro could have disastrous consequences on their finances if their money stays in France.

The bank account holders resent new legislation granting the French government powers to freeze withdrawals from life insurance plans if there is a serious financial crisis.

Many analysts believe the race is too close to call because all four main candidates are placed within the three per cent margin of error. If Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen qualify for the second round on May 7, polls suggest she would beat him.